In 1896 two store owners, H.W. Joyce in Atlantic and Isaac W. Stinson in Swan's Island Village, had a telephone line between their stores so they could talk to each other.
Lillian 'Lil' Smith, telephone operator for Swan's Island, ca. 1950
Swan's Island Historical Society
Telephones for family use arrived on the island during the 1920s. Cables to the mainland were run first to Brooklin, then to Burnt Point, and lastly to Bass Harbor. A "cable call" was an expensive occurrence so it was used only for sharing significant events.
A microwave tower was erected on Swan’s Island across the road from what is now the transfer station. Frank Bridges was president of the Swan’s Island telephone company, one of his many enterprises. Another resident, Russell Burns, was the island lineman for many years.
This picture is of Lillian "Lil” Smith taken in the 1950s. Lil and her husband were the telephone operators during that time.
The audio story about the island telephone system took place in the 1960s. As you will hear in the audio, the phone system was old fashioned even for the '60s.
